There’s a lot of talk about our new building these days…and rightfully so! It is coming along in ways that surprise even me. I stopped in this week to see sheet rock up on every single wall giving shape to the very rooms and hallways we will soon be filling...
Hey Midcurrent, It finally feels like summer is in the air! I don’t know about you but I can hardly wait for everything that comes along with that – walks outside, swimming, ice cream and barefoot kids running around. There’s something about summer that is magical for every age, but...
You may have noticed that it is pretty full at church these days. In fact, you may be wondering, “Do they even realize how full and crowded it really is?” Here’s the answer: yes, we do. We see it, and feel it, and experience it every Sunday. We know we...
Hey everyone, Midcurrent was alive this past Sunday! Could you feel it? Not only did we celebrate that Jesus was alive, but we also witnessed a powerful video story of the new life in Christ that is being born in the lives of people right here in our own community...
As if you needed a reminder that this year is flying by fast…here is your reminder that Easter is just a few days away!! With all of the growth we’ve experienced over the last few months, and in anticipation of all the guests we expect to walk through our doors...
Pastor Sten hit it out of the park again this week. He taught us more about the events of the first Easter weekend and made such a helpful parallel for us to understand about our own lives. The Saturday between Jesus’ crucifixion and his resurrection was relatively uneventful. As Sten...
Hey Midcurrent, If you have been around for the past month or so, you have experienced all the fullness, energy, and excitement of our Sunday morning worship experiences. The whole MC staff keeps saying the same thing, “It has been so fun!” It’s true. It really has been so much...
Hey Midcurrent, I’m writing to you today regarding a significant milestone in our life as a church. This June, Midcurrent will be officially welcomed as a full standing, member congregation of the Evangelical Covenant Church! So then, you might ask, what exactly have we been for the last four years??...
Hey Midcurrent! A few days have already passed, but I am still smiling at the thought of all we celebrated on Sunday. We had the opportunity to dedicate 15 kids to Lord! That’s 15 kids we dedicated to God’s care and to God’s service in the world. And that’s a...
Hey Midcurrent! I almost have to pinch myself whenever I say this out loud, but I could not be more thrilled to announce that construction has officially begun on our new home downtown! It’s not the most glamorous of work, yet–mostly demolition, clean up, and project preparation. And we won’t...
A reflection on Sunday’s message: Recently at Midcurrent, we’ve been talking about “Seizing Your Divine Moment”. The 6 weeks of this series are helping me understand more deeply about the times I have asked for God’s guidance in a decision. Often, it’s when I’ve felt weary and unsure of where...
Hey Midcurrent, With each passing day in 2022, we are one day closer to a potential start date for construction on our new building downtown. As a result, let me give you a few updates on where things stand. Fundraising Goal As we unveiled this exciting new project in the...
This past Sunday we all learned an important lesson: Four of a Kind beats a Full House every singe time. And, no, I wasn’t giving out Poker tips. I did, however, teach on a touching passage of scripture from the book of Mark. Four friends carried their paralyzed friend to...
At our Christmas Eve Eve services we shared a video letting everyone know just what our Christmas wish is this year!
Hey Midcurrent, The week after Christmas is a weird one. It’s hard to remember what day it is, and it can be hard to get back into the groove. On top of that, many people experience what is referred to as the post-Christmas blues. All the excitement and activity is...
I don’t know about you, but this time of year is CRAZY for me. December is always nuts when you work in a church. On top of that, I’m helping lead the Raise ‘Em Up building campaign through some vital stretches of the process right now. And on the home...
Hey Midcurrent! I just walked out of a meeting about the current state of our next home and our Raise ‘Em Up building campaign. And as the saying goes, there’s some good news and some bad news. I’ll start with the good news. We have selected a general contractor!! Typically,...
I’m sitting in Dunn Brothers as I write, and it is full-on Christmas in here. I love it! They’ve had the Christmas cups for a while now (clearly they are in the pre-Thanksgiving-Christmas-celebration camp), but now they have all the trees and ornaments and hanging wreaths. Ready or not, Christmas...
I recently read a question that helped me label something that I didn’t know was missing a label. We all know that some labels are superfluous and can make things complicated, but this one sunk in for a few days and has really helped: “Do you have a rich inner...
Incorruptibility. Read that again. I can’t say it’s a word I’ve pondered before, but wow— what magnitude. This Sunday, Pastor Sten helped us consider the real role of integrity in our lives, and most of all, its role when it is inconvenient and it will certainly cost us in some...
Hey Midcurrent! Part of my job as a leader is to constantly paint a picture of the future–a picture of where God is leading. Often times that results in me speaking about what could be, but may not be yet–the people we have not yet reached, the dreams we have...
Hey Midcurrent! By this time every year, one of the most heated debates resumes. And no, I’m not talking about Starbucks or Caribou? I’m not talking about coffee or tea (does anyone really like tea?). I’m not even talking about Vikings or Packers? I’m talking about Christmas music and whether...
Hey Midcurrent! Here’s a quick update for you on our current building campaign. We currently have just shy of $400,000 pledged to raising up the walls of our new home! That is such incredible news and we are soooooo close to reaching our goal. But, we’re not there yet. I know there...
Hey Midcurrent! This past Sunday will go down as one of those days that I rememberer for a very long time. It was a reminder of how exactly God is moving at Midcurrent. I am so thrilled to share with you that we are over half way to our Raise...
Hey Midcurrent! I am always anxious for another Sunday for all of us to be together. But I am especially anxious for this coming Sunday. I’m am hoping it will be the first tidal-wave sized surge of momentum in our Raise ‘Em Up building campaign. Almost two weeks ago, we...
Hey Midcurrent! This past Sunday was a big one. Not only did we celebrate turning four years old as a church, but it was also a pivotal week 3 in our series and building campaign Raise ‘Em Up. I read a captivating few verses from chapter 3 in the story...
Hey Midcurrent! As I sit down to write today, we are less than 24 hours away from the calendar flipping to October 15. What is so special about that date you may wonder? Let me tell you. Four years ago, on October 15, 2017, we opened the doors of Midcurrent...
On more than one occasion over the past year, I’ve pointed out the fact that Midcurrent continues to grow. But it has dawned on me that I haven’t taken as much time to point out the fact that our staff continues to grow as well! Some have been hired-part time. And...
My littlest human turns 5 tomorrow. Baby & toddlerhood have walked through my house & shown themselves out. I am not honest if I tell you this doesn’t hit, though it’s a smaller Mack truck than I’d planned. So that’s nice. One thing I will miss, besides chubby feet &...
A few weeks back, I mentioned the possibility that Camp St. Croix might no longer be available to us beginning this September. A number of you have since asked, “Sten, what’s the deal with Camp St. Croix?” It’s a great question. You deserve an update. And I can finally provide...
Hey Midcurrent! Not even six months ago, we stepped up to the plate, took a swing, and (honestly, much to our surprise) knocked one out of the park! What exactly am I referring to?? I’m talking about MC YOUTH!! Truthfully, COVID halted any bit of momentum from the smallest beginnings...
It’s like a Ferris wheel, really. The line to ride never ends: Dental visits, soccer schedules, what my sister-in-law thought of the unfinished trim in the dining room, mama failure. (& all this before I got out of bed this morning.) Unfriendly passengers stepping one at a time into my...
When I look around church these days, it dawns on me that we have a really great problem on our hands. There are a lot of people I don’t recognize!! 🙂 Despite the unique year we just experienced in the church, we are still seeing new people walk through our...
Hey Midcurrent! I truly hope you are enjoying these summer months. I, for one, have had a whirlwind month of July. I’ve spent the month doing three things primarily: speaking, vacationing, and praying. The month began with me speaking for a week (twice a day!!!) for a couple hundred people at a...
We just wrapped up a message series called Dangerous Prayers: 1. Search Me 2. Break Me and 3. Send Me. The second one got to me – here are my thoughts. “God purifies hearts.” ~Proverbs 17:3. I would rather He not; let’s be honest. I am comfortable where I am. ...
Last week in church, we talked about the fruit of the spirit and Jill shared her thoughts: I don’t have a good relationship with the Fruits of the Spirit. Or, I should say, I grew up with them, went to college for them, & choke on them now & again. ...
A recent study by the Barna research group found that one-in-three practicing Christians have stopped attending church during COVID-19. They defined “practicing Christians” as those who “identify as Christian, agree strongly that faith is very important in their lives and attend church at least monthly (prior to COVID).” Among this group of...
It’s seems like a year ago at this time, we were making weekly updates about COVID-19 and it’s ever-changing influence on the life of our church. Thankfully that season of unending updates and pivot came to a close. But now some 12 months later, we wanted to take a moment...
I want to tell you the story of the watermelon & the cookie cutters. Today, a beautiful sunny day in the woods of Wisconsin {stick with me here. it gets worse; I promise.}, my 8-year-old came into the kitchen where I was preparing lunch. He had seen the watermelon on...
On Sunday, Sten said these words: “The way of Jesus isn’t always the easy way, but we follow it anyway.” I thought maybe if we could keep reminding ourselves how very ordinary the way of Jesus is, we could make things less hard for our worn out selves. (Here’s hoping.)...
When you walk through the doors of Midcurrent Church, there’s something different in the air. It’s a sense of feeling welcome. A sense of acceptance. A sense of belonging. Midcurrent’s vision, after all, is to be a place where real people and a real God meet. But does that notion...
On Sunday, Brian had us sing about waiting on God, & Sten talked about believing God for impossible things. This is what came of that mash-up. This. Is. Impossible. I can still see it in my 9-year-old brain, Alice standing on the squares of a giant chessboard with the White...
Hey Midcurrent, Have you ever noticed how many National something Days there are? I’ll admit, many of these seem silly to me. There are, however, a few I can get excited about. For instance, National Donut Day. Who wouldn’t be excited for that?! What about National Pancake Day? Come on…that’s good!...
This week, we talked about the Bible…these are my thoughts! -Jill We’ve gotten pretty good at flashlights at our house. The structure is old, where we live. 80+ years. Which means outlets aren’t excessive, so neither are lamps. Which means when the little ones head upstairs at bedtime, they are...
Hey Midcurrent, You ever have a week when you just feel kind of…blaah?? That’s how I’ve been feeling this week. The temperatures dropped significantly from a couple weeks ago. The sun hasn’t shown its face in what feels like forever. Snowflakes were even flying a day ago! And on top of...
I wish you could see my face as I write this email because I am still smiling about Easter at Midcurrent. We checked in a record number of kids (almost 100 in total), hosted more adults in our worship experience than ever before, and we saw a notable increase to...
This week we talked about doors. Especially, the ones we find ourselves locked behind- fear, pride, addiction, comparison, anxiety. Because of what Jesus did on the cross, the door has been unlocked. So why is it so hard to walk through sometimes? Jill Britz shared her thoughts. I can’t remember...
Hey Midcurrent! Easter is just a few days away, and I could not be more excited about what we have planned for you. I have been praying that many people would walk through our doors or join us online. But most of all, I have been praying that God would...
We’ve learned a lot walking through the Art of Neighboring message series….mainly, the BLESS acronym: Begin with prayer. Listen well. Eat together. And this last week, we talked about what it means to Serve. Jill Britz shared her thoughts with us… I’d Rather Not, Thanks. Maybe “serve” isn’t a wrecked...
Hey Midcurrent! I just spent the morning discussing all sorts of details for Easter at Midcurrent. And I wish I could devote this entire email to tell you why I am so excited and why you need to be there! But I’ll have to save that email for next week...
[Written by Jill Britz] As I listened to Sten’s message about Who Is At Our Table, I thought about what keeps us from opening our doors in the first place. These words came from there. “Heart, not house” My couch is outdated, though. And I have a dog. Some people don’t like...
Hey Midcurrent! There is an announcement I have been wanting to make so badly over the last month. The difficult part was the confirmation we were still waiting for, as well as the final t’s needing to be crossed and i’s needing to be dotted. So I had to hold...
Back in January we went through a 2 week series called ‘Hindsight is 2020’ and some shared stories of the year that was and how they saw God moving throughout. Jill Britz shared some incredible wisdom to kick off the series, don’t miss a single word of what she...
Hey Midcurrent! This past Sunday, I stopped downstairs into MCKIDS while we were prepping Camp St. Croix for church that morning. My daughter, Lucy, was standing in front of a giant piece of paper taped to the wall with a marker in her hand. She was preparing an activity for...
Hey Midcurrent! For two Sundays in a row, just last month, neither Erica nor I were at Midcurrent assuming our typical roles for the morning. But this past Sunday, both of us were back at it–me preaching upstairs and Erica teaching in MCKIDS downstairs. Erica will admit, she was nervous....
Hey Midcurrent! If you’ve been around for the last couple weeks, you know that I haven’t been. But after a week of some rest and relaxation with my family, I’m excited to say, “I’m back!!!” But before I get too far ahead of myself, let me first pause and say...
Hey friends! I am currently reviewing all things 2020 at Midcurrent. And despite the constant uncertainty of the year behind us, one of the things I am so mindful of is your continued faithfulness and generosity to God’s work at Midcurrent. Sure, Midcurrent looked and felt different last year. And...
Hey Midcurrent! If you were able join us last week, in-person or online, you might be interested to know that I am writing this update from my home office…nervously anticipating one of my kids to come peak through the double doors interrupting me while I work. (Ok, I promise I...
It’s is hard to imagine that we are nearing the end of the year. And what a wild year it has been!! With everything we have experienced in the world, things in the Church world have looked a bit different. Church interest, engagement, and attendance have all been affected. In...
Whether you grew up in church or not, you may know that the four weeks leading up to Christmas is known as the season of Advent. That all started this past weekend. In the Carlson home, we kicked off this season in the same we have for the last few...
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in...
This past Sunday, we had the opportunity to support families right here in the St. Croix Valley who need a little extra assistance to ensure that the things their kids need, and wished for, are under the tree this Christmas. I’m not gonna lie, I was nervous that we bit...
I can’t even count, over the last few months, how many times I’ve asked myself “I wonder if __________ is open right now?” These days, it’s a totally valid question as our communities continue to adapt and navigate to the realities we are experiencing. Well, I don’t want any of...
Hey Midcurrent! Every summer, my mom’s entire side of the family spends a week at a Bible camp in Michigan. Each winter, the camp reveals the summer theme for the new season. Last winter, they revealed the theme for the upcoming summer of 2020. It was Into the Unknown. Little did they...
In the final moments before his arrest, and eventual death on a cross, Jesus prayed for US. His one prayer request is that we would experience unity despite our diversity. WHY? Because Jesus knew that if we are ONE, we’ll get the attention of a world that needs to know...
For the last three weeks, we’ve been sharing stories of the way God has been at work in the last three years at Midcurrent. Thanks Erin for sharing a bit of your story with us!
In less than a week now, it will be…drum roll please….. Election Day! Who is excited?! Anyone hosting a watch party and inviting everyone they know?!? Ok, let’s be honest… that’s not happening. Most of us can’t even watch Viking/Packer games together let alone watching the most divisive election in...
For the last three weeks, we’ve been celebrating the three years God has been at work at Midcurrent. Thanks to Mike and Indira for sharing how it is that God has been at work in you!
Last Sunday, we celebrated the stories of God’s work in the lives of four people who have found at home at Midcurrent. We want to share two of those stories with you today.
Hey Midcurrent! This last Sunday, we celebrated three years since we first opened the doors of our church! Whether you were with us in-person or online, we were so glad to have you a part of all the excitement for this incredible milestone. I think my favorite part of the...
Here’s a fun look back at 3 incredible years @ Midcurrent!
I woke up this morning and checked the time on my cell phone. It was 6:00am–a pretty typical time for me to roll out of bed. Nothing special there. But there was one other measurement of time that did catch my attention. Just below the time on the home screen...
Need a little day brightener? Take a look back at our team’s quarantine version of ‘Count on Me’!
I want to keep you as informed as possible as we continue to navigate church life together this fall. By now, you may have heard that the state of Wisconsin issued a mandate to limit indoor gatherings to 25% of the room capacity. Although churches are exempt from that mandate,...
We’re two weeks into holding church in-person AND online, and I just wanted to take a moment this week to say, “Thank you!” Thank you for hanging in there with us throughout the last six months. Thank you for your prayers for my family and for our church family. Thank...
It may have been like no fall kick-off we have ever experienced before, but I for one was excited to see what took place last Sunday. We gathered in-person and online as ONE church to set our hearts and minds on God and the ways He is moving in our...
Hey Midcurrent, This is it!! Our doors are opening at Camp St. Croix once again this Sunday morning at 10:30am, and we are incredibly excited to welcome you back and to be together again! I want to let you know that we are not choosing to meet together again because we are...
As we do re-gather in the midst of this season, things will look slightly different. Church leadership, staff, and volunteers (from our musicians upstairs to our MC Kids team downstairs and everyone in between) all respond differently to what it is we are experiencing in the world today. And that’s...
We asked. You answered! And what we learned is that, despite the uncertainty of the year 2020, women are craving the spiritual, emotional, and relational opportunity to escape for the 2020 Midcurrent women’s Breathe Retreat. As with all things in 2020, we are working hard to ensure a safe and...
Hey Midcurrent! I turned my back for one second, and just like that… it’s sweatshirt weather! Now I’m never one to wish summer away, but I will admit, I do like the changing of the seasons. There is a lot to like about fall, and for many of us there is comfort in routine and the...